My hope is that the Department of Justice will see the cattle industry is a very manipulated monopoly that needs broken up.
My hope is also that the government realizes that we do not need or want a foreign country owning our food source. My fear is unless every organization keeps putting pressure on politicians and the government that the Department of Justice will say, “We can find no collusion.” You do not have to be very well educated to see the rip off and realize it is ruining the cattle industry. The packers and a handful of very large cattle operators are getting filthy rich at your and my expense. Again, I want the packer making money and the retailer also and I don’t even care if those handling 500,000 cattle a year make $50 a head more. But I do care if the packer is given enough cattle that he does not have to compete for what’s left and can steal the rest.
We received some very nice rains again. It was spotty with a few areas only getting a little and some receiving 2 to 4 inches.
Our feeder market last week was extremely good. We sold 161 steers weighing 925 pounds that brought $150 per hundredweight. We had a string of Charolais cross steers weighing 631 pounds that brought $178. And our 650-pound heifers topped at $160 and 700-pound heifers at $152.50. Just think what feeders would bring if the packer was only making $100 per head.
We have a great product but it’s time we get to realize our share of the profit.
Last week after the sale was over I headed back home. I stopped at one of my pastures to check my cows’ water. There was also a pond there and there were five you women skinny-dipping in my pond. It was very evident because all their clothes were on the bank. I cleared my throat to make sure they knew I was there.
One of them shouted, “We are not coming out until you leave.” I said, “That is fine but I just came to feed the water moccasins.”
A gun is like a parachute, if you need one and don’t have one you will probably never need one again.
A friend of mine said he had a .22 caliber and a .300, also a 9 mm and a .40 and a .45 and they are all faster than dialing 911.
One thought for some: If this flag offends you, I will help you pack.
I saw a bumper sticker that said, “My brakes work fine—how’s your insurance?”
Editor’s note: Jerry Nine, Woodward, Oklahoma, is a lifetime cattleman who grew up on his family’s ranch near Slapout, Oklahoma.
